At first they said Donald Trump would peak in a few days. That was a month ago. Then they said the property tycoon had hit a low double-digit ceiling with a hard core of Republican “crazies”. He is now polling at 18 per cent, which is higher than Jeb Bush and Scott Walker.

Finally, we are told, Trump’s demise is upon us. The man has simply gone too far. Any moment now, the most buffoonish, prejudiced, egomaniacal candidate in recent Republican history will implode. All that will be left to remind us of our brief spell of folly will be those neon signs flashing “Trump” on skyscrapers and casinos around America. At that point, thank goodness, we can resume politics as usual. Alas, the cognoscenti are kidding themselves. US politics will not pick up where it left off. Even if Trump becomes the first recorded human to be lifted skywards in rapture — the “end of days” scenario to which some of his fans subscribe — he will leave a visible mark on the Republican party.

In a field of 16 candidates, when one polls a quarter of the vote, it is the equivalent of a landslide. Trump’s detractors, who form arguably one of the largest bipartisan coalitions in memory, comfort themselves that he is simply on an ego trip that will turn sour. That may be true. But they are missing the point. The legions of Republicans flocking to Trump’s banner are not going anywhere. If he crashes, which he eventually must, they will find another champion. But Trump’s finest hour is yet to come. In two weeks, he will take the podium at the Fox News Republican debate as the first of the 10 candidates who will make the grade. Both Fox and CNN, which holds the second debate in September, have winnowed the stage to include only the top 10 candidates by polling numbers. Those in the second tier, such as Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, and Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, may count themselves lucky.

Popular resentment

Trump is likely to do in the debates exactly what has been working for him on the campaign trail — insult the other candidates by name and watch them squirm. At a point when people like Jeb should be figuring out their ground strategy, there is only one thing on their mind: How will I respond to Trump? Should I pretend to ignore him or should I say: “Have you no shame sir?”

There are no right answers to these dilemmas. Attempts to shame Trump could as easily stoke the popular resentment that sustains him. Nor is it possible to steal Trump’s policy clothes. There is no logic to his platform. Trump’s success is based on the spirit of anti-politics — the dislike of poll-tested campaigns, scripted candidates and the political classes in general. Consistency is a vice. Coherence spells dishonesty.

The latest poll shows that only 8 per cent of Republican graduates support Trump against 32 per cent of those without a degree. These are the angry swaths of America that feel left behind, belittled and insulted. They want to take their country back, but cannot put their finger on what exactly they mean. For them it is evening in America. Nobody argues their case.

Then along comes Trump. Foreigners may be tempted to see him as uniquely American. But he has his equivalents everywhere. Think of Silvio Berlusconi in Italy or even Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom.

The worse they sound, the better they do. That is the power of anti-politics. Trump is merely a symptom. His Republican rivals should beware. Trump Towers will fall. Other skyscrapers loom.

— Financial Times